Late
in the late afternoon when the darkness lifted from Golgotha and the sun was
full upon him, Jesus cried out in triumph and breathed his last. But those
gathered around the cross did not recognize his victory. As Christ hung
motionless, the warm sun spread over his spilled blood. As those who had hoped
in Jesus slowly trudged away from the scene, the icy fingers of death tightened
about their hearts in chilling, numbing grief. Despairing hands prepared his
cold body for burial and laid it in the tomb. So deep was their despair that no
one possessed even the slightest thought of resurrection. When at dawn on the
third day the women found the tomb empty, still no one suspected resurrection.
It appears that they did not believe even after the angels announced he had
risen. And when Peter inspected the empty tomb, instead of believing, he went
away wondering.

CONFUSION
(vv. 13-24) Indeed, all those who had followed Christ were still in despair
that afternoon, though they had heard bits and pieces about the empty tomb. As
we pick up the story, two of them were on the road to a village named Emmaus.
located a short distance from Jerusalem. One of them is identified as Cleopas
(v. 18; cf. John 19:25 -- I believe the "Clopas" mentioned there is
the "Cleopas" in Luke 24), a blood relative -- Jesus' uncle. the
brother of his father Joseph. The best guess as to who the other traveler was
is that it was his wife Mary, as she is identified in John 19:25. Uncle Cleopas
and Aunt Mary, overcome with grief. were making the sad journey back to their
lodging in Emmaus.

They
were devastated. Their hope had been elevated by this nephew of theirs. They
"had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel" (v. 21),
But a "Messiah" who managed to get himself imprisoned and handed over
to the Romans who then crucified him was a disappointing delusion. They had
supported Jesus -- and because of that their life had not been easy. Now they
ached with grief and confusion. The Scriptures promised a Messiah, and they
thought Jesus was the one, but Jesus did not deliver. They needed a word from
God.

Did
God care? Indeed he did! And our resurrected Lord understood perfectly the
confusion in their hearts. Cleopas and Mary moved ever so slowly along the road
to Emmaus. Others rushed past them, but they did not even notice. But the
resurrected Christ knew not only their geographical location but the terrain of
their souls. The omniscient Savior understood!

The
word omniscient sounds so cosmic and cold. but Jesus' knowledge of his
followers is tender and personal. As the Psalmist wrote, "You know when I
sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going
out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways" (Psalm 139:2,3).
We may feel insignificant and alone, but when we see Jesus fresh from the
cosmic trauma of death and resurrection monitoring the footsteps and heartbeats
of a despairing couple, we know that we too are known and loved.

We
do not know how Jesus positioned himself to intercept the couple, but he did
manage to walk with them. They were apparently prevented from recognizing him.
"He asked them, 'What are you discussing together as you walk along?' They
stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, 'Are
you the only one living in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have
happened there in these days?' 'What things?' he asked" (vv. 17-19a).
Cleopas responded to Jesus' initial question with depressed, biting sarcasm.
The irony was that he accused Jesus of not knowing what was going on, but they
did not know who was talking with them and that the Resurrection had in fact
taken place.

Graciously
seeking to enlighten them, our Lord would not be put off. His second question,
"What things?" got them to express their confusion. Note that in
verse 19 both of them spoke, and that they were definitely not possibility
thinkers:

Luke
24:19 And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all
the people,20 “and how the chief
priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified
Him.21 “But we were hoping that
it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is
the third day since these things happened.22 “Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at
the tomb early, astonished us.23
“When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a
vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb
and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

They
were so depressed and so negative in their confusion that it was beyond their
capacity to make the obvious connection. If you have ever been depressed or
tried to help someone who is depressed, you know that such people are amazingly
resourceful in finding reasons not to take comfort in anything you say to them.
They are determined to hear every. thing as bad news. And that is exactly what
these two did with the news of the empty tomb. To them, the empty tomb
compounded the tragedy, for they thought someone had stolen the body, adding
insult to injury. So the good news was bad news! Ironically, Cleopas mentioned
that it had been three days since Jesus' death, not recalling that Jesus had
said over and over before his Passion that he would be put to death and rise
again on the third day (cf. 9:22; Mark 9:3 I; John 2:19).

Cleopas
had let it all out -- his confusion, his depression, his disillusionment, his
shrinking faith, his anger. And did Jesus reject him? Of course not. Jesus
coaxed the couple to reveal their true thoughts, which were by and large their
doubts. And when they did so, he answered. Our Lord honors spiritual honesty.
For example, in the opening four verses of Habakkuk, the prophet used powerful,
emotive language to honestly express his complaints and questions. And God
answered his depressed prophet so wonderfully that Habakkuk experienced
prophetic ecstasy:

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are
no grapes on the vine, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no
food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I
will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD
is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go
on the heights. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

Our
Lord invites honesty from his people. This is not to suggest that we are called
to trumpet our doubts to those around us, especially to the young and
uninformed, but he wants us to tell him the truth. He knows anyway.

NEW
LIGHT (vv, 25-27)

Rebuke

Earlier
that day when the women had been rebuked -- "Why do you look for the
living among the dead?" (v. 5) -- they knew they had been rebuked by
supernatural beings. But now, when Christ rebuked Cleopas and Mary, they had no
idea that it was Christ who was saying to them, "How foolish you are, and
how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the
Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" (vv. 25,
26). Certainly they believed the prophets, but just as certainly they did not
believe all that the prophets had said. They had read and believed the prophets
selectively as they embraced the Messiah-ruler passages, ignoring the passages
that prophesied his sufferings. Foolish people! Slow of heart to believe! That
was the rebuke from the King incognito.

Explanation

"And beginning with Moses and all the
Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning
himself" (v. 27).

If
there is anything that would make a preacher swell with envy, this is it! This
was exegetical Heaven! The root idea of "explained" is the word from
which we derive the word hermeneutics, (diermeneuo = dia + hermeneuo,"to interpret fully")the science of Bible
interpretation. The Word of God incarnate explained the written Word of God.

Moreover,
"He explained. . . all the Scriptures concerning himself." We know
from the Savior himself that the entire Old Testament points to him. He would
say this again later that day (and even more explicitly) to the assembled
apostles in Jerusalem:

He said to them, "This is what I told you
while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about
me in the Law of Moses. the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their
minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them. "This is what
is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third
day." (vv. 44-46)

John's
Gospel states that from the very onset of Jesus' ministry, he taught that he
was central to the Old Testament. "You diligently study the
Scriptures," he told the Pharisees, "because you think that by them
you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet
you refuse to come to me to have life" (5:39, 40). This understanding and
conviction that the Old Testament corpus is about Christ informed and energized
the Apostle Paul's preaching, as he explained before King Agrippa: "But I
have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small
and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said
would happen -- that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the
dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles" (Acts
26:22, 23).

When
Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch on the road, reading Isaiah 53:7, 8,
and the eunuch asked who that passage was talking about, "Then Philip
began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about
Jesus" (Acts 8:35). The prophet Isaiah preached Jesus!

And
when Peter was preaching in the house of the Gentile Cornelius, his recorded
sermon concluded with these words: "He [Jesus] commanded us to preach to
the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the
living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who
believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts
10:42,43).

The
apostles knew that the Old Testament preached Christ! Indeed, the Old Testament
prophets themselves understood this and tried "to find out the time and
circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he
predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow" (I
Peter 1:11; cf. vv. 10-12). The apostles' Christocentric/bibliocentric belief
that the Old Testament is full of Christ was stated by the Apostle Paul in the
epigram, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in
Christ" (2 Corinthians 1:20). As the venerable Charles Hodge put it,
"All that God had promised relative to the salvation of man met its full
accomplishment in him. . . . Christ as regards the promises of God, was the
yea, i.e. their affirmation and accomplishment.'" Here in Luke, on
Resurrection Day, Jesus taught that he is the divine "yes" to the Old
Testament!

Certainly
as "He explained. . . all the Scriptures concerning himself; he did not
touch upon every text that alluded to him (they would never have gotten to
Emmaus!), but he did interpretively include the whole of Scripture. What a
gripping revelation to hear Christ interpret the sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis
22 as emblematic of his substitutionary atonement and even a prophetic hint of
his resurrection (cf. Hebrews 2:17-19), or to hear Jesus, "the Lamb of
God" (John 1:29), discourse on the messianic significance of the Passover
lamb as it related to his suffering and death, his body and his blood (cf. Luke
22:14-20).

Under
Jesus' Emmaus tutelage, the various Old Testament sacrifices coursed with fresh
insights on salvation. Possibly Jesus taught them on how the tabernacle and
temple pointed to him -- that indeed he is the temple (cf. Luke 19:45 - 20: 19;
John 2: 18.22; cf. also the eschatological reference to the Lamb as the temple
in Revelation 21 :22). Perhaps Jesus discoursed on some of the grand images
that spoke of him, such as the manna and the bronze serpent. He must have taken
them through Isaiah 53, showing as he did in the Upper Room that he was
"numbered with the transgressors" (v. 12; cf. Luke 22:37), and that
the shape of chapter 53 prophesied how the Suffering Servant would die for our
sins (vv. 1-9), then appear alive, triumphant, and reigning (vv. 10-12). Surely
he unpacked Psalm 22, beginning with the words "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?" -- and then applied it to the cross.

The
more Jesus opened the Word, the faster their pulses raced. The stranger had
established that suffering and death were not obstacles to Jesus' being
Messiah, and in fact made Jesus' claim to be Messiah more credible and
compelling. The real Messiah had to suffer! Their confusion and depression
melted like frost before the sun. The Scriptures were alive to the couple as
never before.

What
grief they would have been spared if they had only known and believed God's
Word to begin with. If we find ourselves hurting and despairing and do not find
that Scripture speaks to our condition, it is not because the Bible has failed
us, but because we do not know it well enough. We cannot be profoundly
comforted by that which we do not know. We need to study our Bible with an eye
to our Savior, because everything to do with our salvation and shalom is "yes"
in Christ.

Revelation

As
the incognito Christ was expounding the Scriptures, the two had come to see the
plausibility, and indeed the necessity, of the Passion and Resurrection. Now
they began to understand why the tomb was empty. I think they were divinely
kept from recognizing Christ so they would base their understanding of the
Resurrection squarely on the Scripture and not on experience. A privileged
experience such as this, if not grounded in the Word, runs the danger of
becoming a privatized, eccentric interpretation. The couple on the road,
however, were in no such danger. Their belief in the Resurrection rested on the
Scriptures before they saw Christ!

Arriving
at their lodging, the couple strongly urged him to come in. The word carries
the idea of force. They insisted -- and we can understand why.

As
busy Mary finished preparing the evening meal, she called them to the table,
and "When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke
it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they
recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight" (vv. 30, 31). Many
believe that the moment of recognition came when, as he broke the bread, they
saw his nail-pierced hands. That may well have been. The breaking of bread in
Jesus' life, for example in the feeding of the 5,000 and at the Passover table,
was "an inimitable gesture of self-revelation."

How
they were jolted! Surprise, Cleopas! Surprise. Mary! Surprise, citizens of
Emmaus! Surprise, world! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

That
explosive moment was burned into their minds for eternity. And then he was
gone. But their hearts were left with Easter fire: "They asked each other,
'Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and
opened the Scriptures to us?'" (v. 32). Their winter of soul was gone
forever. So it is when the Scriptures come alive in your soul with the
centrality and reality of Jesus Christ. The great Frenchman Blaise Pascal must
have been somewhere in the Emmaus latitudes on the memorable night of November
23, 1654, when he wrote in his journal the word "Fire" to describe
the most memorable spiritual experience of his life. This glowing word was
followed with the hurried scribble: "Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy;"
and then several inscriptions of the name "Jesus Christ" like
signatures on a letter.

WITNESSES
(vv. 33-35)

Two
souls were left flaming in the dark at Emmaus. Jesus was gone, but they sensed
his presence. Otherwise they would not have rushed from their table back to
Jerusalem with their dynamic news. Sensible Palestinians did not travel lonely
roads at night, for fear of thieves and muggers, but the two disciples could
not keep their news to themselves.

"They got up and returned at once to
Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
and saying, 'It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon: Then the
two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them
when he broke the bread" (vv. 33-35).

They
would see Jesus again later that evening along with the rest of the apostolic
band. But for now they were thrilled that Peter had seen Christ, and all were
beginning to grasp the wonderful truth. This was the beginning of what would
become the fellowship of burning hearts, a band that would bear potent witness
of Christ to the entire known world.

CLOSING
REFLECTIONS

This
very moment Christ knows where we are. He knows the geography of our lives
inside and out. He knows the temperature of our souls. He knows whether there
is ice or fire. Whatever our state, his method is the same -- to meet us where
we are with his own person framed in the beautiful context of his Word.

The
life-giving, energizing truth is that Christ suffered and died for our sins
"according to the Scriptures." And then. on the third day, He rose
from the dead "according to the Scriptures" (I Corinthians 15:3,4).

He
is the Savior prophesied on Mt. Moriah, the atoning Lamb of the Passover, our
tabernacle and temple (for he is our sacrifice and our priest), our manna/bread
of heaven, the Suffering Servant who was "numbered with the
transgressors" the Son who suffered separation from the Father for us when
he bore our sins. He delights to bring fire to cold hearts. We do not need more
light -- we need heat!

Easter Gospel and Mission

LUKE 24:36-49

A
three-paneled printing is called a triptych. If you have seen one, it was
probably in a museum or an ancient church, where they often resided on the
altar and depicted three parallel scenes.

Luke
24 provides us with a Resurrection triptych -- three parallel scenes from
Easter day. If the scenes were painted, the first panel would be a painting of
the women in conversation with the angels at the empty tomb. The second scene
would be of the two disciples on the Emmaus road, their hearts burning as they
listened to Christ, unrecognized, explain the Old Testament Scriptures to them.
And the third panel would be a painting of Jesus suddenly standing in the midst
of his startled disciples on Easter evening. It is very likely that such a
Resurrection triptych can be found in numerous old cathedrals, because the
three parallel scenes are so obvious in Luke 24.

From
a literary point of view, Luke's Resurrection triptych is particularly stunning
because, as we have noted, all three scenes follow the same outline: first
confusion, next rebuke, then instruction, and lastly witness.

As
we take up the third and final scene we see confusion bordering on pandemonium.
The Eleven had gathered behind closed doors in Jerusalem (cf. John 20:19),
where the Apostle Peter had amazed them by relating that he had personally seen
the risen Lord. This was followed by the entrance of the couple from the Emmaus
road with the report of their astounding encounter with Christ incognito, their
burning hearts, and the grand moment of recognition when he broke the bread.

CONFUSION
(vv. 36, 37)

"While they were still talking about this,
Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' They were
startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost" (vv. 36, 37).

They
had nodded in seeming acceptance of Peter's report, they continued nodding as
they listened to the Emmaus report, but with the sudden appearance of Jesus
they gasped, their eyes bulged, and their skin crawled as they saw what they
took to be a ghostly apparition of Jesus. It was indeed Jesus' voice that
greeted them "Peace be with you." Peace on earth had been announced
at the coming of Jesus (2: 14), but they did not have much peace in their
hearts -- only scandalous disbelief. These handpicked apostles were as
"foolish. . . and slow of heart" (v. 25) and confused as the Emmaus
disciples had been!

REBUKE
(vv, 38-43)

Jesus'
lordly rebuke took the form of a disappointed question, followed by an
invitation for tactile examination: "He said to them, 'Why are you
troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet.
It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you
see I have.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet"
(vv. 38-40). After this, none could argue that they had seen a specter. They
felt for themselves solid flesh over hard bones. Some even touched the open
wounds. Jesus was physically there. It was his earthly body, but raised to a
higher position. The materiality of his resurrection was a fact.

In
moments the apostles' condition had become one of positive (rather than
negative) disbelief: "And while they still did not believe it because of
joy and amazement. . ." (v. 41a). They were in the wacky state of giddy
disbelief -- like football fans whose team just scored as time ran out to win
the game. The literal Greek here reads, "they being unbelieving from
joy and amazement."
Jesus then delivered the final blow to their doubts: "He asked them, 'Do
you have anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he
took it and ate it in their presence" (vv. 41b-43). This was not the only
time Jesus did this. After the Resurrection he appeared to them over a period
of forty days and occasionally ate with them (cf. Acts 1:4). Peter told
Cornelius, "He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God
had already chosen -- by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the
dead" (Acts 10:41).

After
this, none of the Eleven ever again doubted the reality of the Resurrection. In
the following moments Jesus had their attention as perhaps he had never had it
before. This was so appropriate because he proceeded to impart the eternal
essentials of gospel and mission.

INSTRUCTION
(vv. 44-47)

As
Jesus proceeded to instruct them. we must note that the Resurrection triptych,
the three successive events of Easter day, all focused on God's Word for
instruction. First, the angels at the tomb referred the women back to Christ's
words: "'Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
"The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be
crucified and on the third day be raised again." Then they remembered his
words" (vv. 6b-8).

Next,
Christ incognito chided the despondent couple on the Emmaus road: "'How
foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his
glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what
was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (w. 25-27).

And
now, in the third event of the triptych in Jerusalem, he explained his Passion
and resurrection in the dynamic context of Old Testament Scripture: "This
is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled
that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms"
(v. 44). As Leon Morris has said, "The solemn division of Scripture into
the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms (the three divisions of the
Hebrew Bible) indicates that there is no part of Scripture that does not bear
its witness to Jesus.'"

And
again we must understand that one of the reasons Jesus taught them from Scripture
was that he did not want them to rest their belief in his resurrection on their
personal experience alone. He was not interested in their becoming an esoteric
coterie, an elite group with a special knowledge of Christ. Resting their faith
on a miracle was not sufficient. He wanted them to ground their experience of
his resurrection on the massive testimony and perspective of Scripture.
Tragically, one can actually believe in the Resurrection and not believe in
Christ -- as Jesus had warned earlier in the Parable of the Rich Man and
Lazarus: "'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not
be convinced even if someone rises from the dead'" (Luke 16:31). Jesus'
passion and resurrection only make saving sense in the beautiful context of the
Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

This
encounter was undoubtedly the ultimate teachable moment in all history. Jesus
would have seated himself, taking the traditional posture of a teacher, and as
he gestured in the candlelit room his nail-pierced hands or wrists emphasized
his points. No wandering minds here. No Eutychus nodding and falling off his
perch!

His
teaching was enhanced by divine illumination: "Then he opened their minds
so they could understand (he Scriptures" (v. 45). Though they had been his
devoted followers, a spiritual veil had covered their understanding, so that on
two occasions when he had foretold his death we read, "It was hidden from
them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about
it" (Luke 9:45), and again, "The disciples did not understand any of
this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was
talking about" (Luke 18:34; cf. 2 Corinthians 3:13-16). But on Easter
night the blinders were removed as the Holy Spirit opened their minds! What a
dynamic combination -- the Holy Scriptures illumined by the Holy Spirit. What
they learned that night and in succeeding conversations during the forty days
before Christ's ascension became the Biblical substance for the apostolic
preaching of the gospel and their apostolic mission.

Gospel
Instruction

First
we read that Jesus instructed them about the gospel (i.e., Jesus' passion and
resurrection) from the Old Testament: "He told them, 'This is what is
written; The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day'"
(v. 46). From this we understand that the apostolic preaching of the gospel was
always framed by the rich background of Old Testament exposition. Paul says
exactly this in I Corinthians 15: 1-4;

Now, brothers, 1 want to remind you of the
gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your
stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached
to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to
you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according
to the Scriptures.

From
this, we must also understand that the gospel is only fully preached when set in
the context of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

The
Law? Where do we find the gospel of Christ in the Law? Most clearly, we see his
sufferings in the great institutions and events of the Law. According to Exodus
24, the Old Covenant was launched on a sea of blood from sacrificial animals
with which Moses doused the altar, the Book, and the people. In the following
centuries oceans of blood flowed upon Jewish altars from suffering animals,
effecting an external ceremonial cleansing of the offerers. These sacrifices
pointed to and were fulfilled by the shed blood of Christ, as the writer of
Hebrews so well explained:

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a
heifer sprinkled on those who were ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that
they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our
consciences from acts that lead to death, that we may "serve the living
God! (Hebrews 9:13,14)

The
daily sacrifices pointed to and begged for the ultimate atoning sacrifice of
Christ.

In
a similar way the Passover lamb of Exodus 12 prophesied of Christ's sufferings.
Just before his death, while with his disciples in the Upper Room, Jesus made
it very clear that he was the Passover lamb as he prepared to eat the Passover
meal, saying, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before
I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in
the kingdom of God" (Luke 22:15,16). Jesus then fulfilled the Passover to
the letter as a male in his prime without defect (cf. Exodus 12:5), who in the
sacrificial process did not have any of his bones broken (cf. Exodus 12:46:
John 19:36). And now, just as faith in the blood of the Passover lamb delivered
the Israelites from death, so faith in Jesus' blood brings life. Christ is our
Passover (cf. I Corinthians 5:7).

In
this connection the entire tabernacle spoke of Christ, and the epicenter of the
tabernacle (the mercy seat atop the Ark of the Covenant where the blood was
sprinkled) pictured Christ's atoning/propitiating work. It is a fact that the
New Testament word "propitiation" (hilaskomai) comes from the root
word for mercy seat (hilasterion), so that the Apostle John would explain of Christ,
"and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only,
but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Paul similarly
comments of Christ, "whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His
blood" (Romans 3:25). Jesus is both the atoning place and the atoning
blood for our sins.

Christ's
sufferings are written huge in the Law. There is even a hint of the
Resurrection in the Law. Luke records in chapter 20 that Christ embarrassed the
resurrection-denying Sadducees by showing them that Exodus 3:6, where God says,
"I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the
God of Jacob," proves the idea of resurrection because God would not say
"I am" (present tense) the God of those deceased patriarchs unless
they were still living. Peter remembered this and alluded to it in his sermon
in Acts 3:13, then went on to proclaim the Resurrection: "You killed the
author of life, but God raised him from the dead" (v. 15). Peter saw that
the same resurrection power that raised the patriarchs to life after death
raised Jesus, who was after all the author of life!

The
Prophets? Where is the gospel found in the Prophets? The most explicit
foretelling of Christ's sufferings in the prophetic Scriptures is in Isaiah 53,
the text to which Christ directed his disciples in the Upper Room by referring
to its final verse indicating that he himself "was numbered with the
transgressors," thus directing their attention to the fact that every line
of the chapter refers to him as the ultimate Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53 drips
with Christ's Passion!

Not
only do the prophets detail Christ's sufferings -- they also speak of his
resurrection occurring on the third day. In verse 46 Luke was apparently
alluding to Hosea 6:2: "After two days he will revive us; on the third day
he will restore us, that we may live in his presence." That prophecy was
given to sinful Israel, but there was nothing in their history to correspond to
it -- except that when Christ rose from the dead on the third day, he raised
with himself believing Israel. The prophecy plainly points to Christ. Christ's
body lay in the tomb for two days, and on the third day he rose again. Christ
"was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1
Corinthians 15:4).

The
Psalms? Indeed, the gospel was in the Law and the Prophets, and in the Psalms
as well. Psalm 22 is the locus classicus as it gives a technical description of
one dying of crucifixion before the cross was ever invented. But even more, it
perfectly describes Jesus' experience. even to the detail of the soldiers
gambling over his clothing (v. 18).

The
Psalms also teach the Resurrection, as Peter explained in his sermon at
Pentecost when he quoted Psalm 16:8-11:

25
“For David says concerning Him, I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For
He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart
rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27
For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to
see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me
full of joy in Your presence.’" (Acts 2:25-28)

Then
Peter explained that David did not fulfill the prophecy because he rotted in
the grave. But Christ, the ultimate Son, did fulfill it because he rose before
decomposition began:

29
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he
is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “Therefore,
being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the
fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit
on his throne, 31 “he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of
the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see
corruption. 32 “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
(Acts 2:29-32)

Thus
along these lines Jesus is the theme of the entire body of Scripture. As the
law was opened, their hearts burned. As the Prophets came alive, the flames
rose higher. And with the Psalms, their hearts became passionate, roaring
furnaces. They became men of the gospel!

Mission
Instruction

But
it didn't stop there. Jesus also showed them that world mission was taught
throughout the Scriptures.

The
Law? The Law, the Torah, foretold this right at the origin of the Jewish nation
when God said to Abram, "1 will make you into a great nation and I will
bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will
bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples
on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:2, 3; cf. 17:3-7). This
was accomplished through his ultimate seed, Jesus Christ, as Paul explained:
'The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not
say 'and to seeds', meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one
person, who is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). So Christ is the heir and
mediator of the promise made to Abraham. And the blessing goes out to the Gentiles
as they come to Christ and are incorporated into his body: "If you belong
to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise" (v. 29). The nations of the earth are blessed with the spiritual
riches of Abraham when believers preach Christ.

The
Prophets? Mission is also found in the Prophets. In Acts 13 Paul and Barnabas
explain why they are turning to the Gentiles, and they quote from Isaiah 49:6
(a passage citing the task first given to the servant Messiah but that is now
the responsibility of his followers): '''For this is what the Lord has
commanded us: "1 have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring salvation to the ends of the earth:" When the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for
eternal life believed" (Acts 13:47, 48). All Christ's followers are
charged to aid in bringing light to the Gentiles and salvation to the ends of
the earth.

The
Psalms? This is also the ancient message of the Psalms. Psalm 22, which so
graphically describes Christ's sufferings, ends with a statement of mission:
"All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the
families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the
LORD and he rules over the nations" (vv. 27, 28; cf. the marvelous string
of five Psalms that declare God's salvation to theGentiles: Psalm 96, esp. vv. 1-3,7, 10; 97, esp. vv. 1,6;
98, esp. vv. 1-3; 99, esp. vv. 1-3; 100).

That
Easter night, privately locked up with the Eleven, Jesus grounded gospel and
mission in the Old Testament Scriptures. He showed that the Law, the Prophets,
and the Psalms all taught his suffering, all taught his death, all taught his
resurrection, all taught mission to the world beginning with Jerusalem, the
very heartland of the Jewish faith, the place where the incarnate Son suffered,
died, and rose again. The gospel was and is for the world! We are to be gospel
men and women who proclaim that "Christ died for our sins according to the
Scripture." that he was buried, that he was raised the third day according
to the Scriptures" (l Corinthians 15:3, 4). Our message is not a
philosophy. It is not even a way of life. It is the eternal good news based on
historical events prophesied in the Old Testament and fulfilled by Jesus the
Messiah. We are to preach Christ and him crucified.

And
gospel people are to be mission people. The gospel demands that we share Christ
everywhere, and that we use our time and resources to go to the nations. It is
a matter of life and death. It is about the glory of God.

WITNESS
(vv, 48, 49)

All
three panels of the Resurrection triptych conclude with witness. The women
hurried from the empty tomb to share the good news with the Eleven (vv. 9, 10).
The couple on the road marched back to Jerusalem to share what had happened
along the way. And here Jesus made it formal: "You are witnesses of these
things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the
city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (vv. 48, 49). He
was promising the Holy Spirit, a promise reiterated at his ascension: "But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth" (Acts 1:8).

And
when the Spirit came, what power there was! The preaching of the gospel was not
advanced by the mere recitation of what the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms
said about Jesus. Neither was it advanced by the declaration of the Scriptures'
fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The gospel was advanced
when the messengers were empowered by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit was
pleased to do his work of regeneration. As Paul testified to the Thessalonians,
"Our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with
the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction" (I Thessalonians 1:5).

May
we be gospel people, devoted to mission in the power and passionate conviction
of the Holy Spirit!

Christ's Ascension

LUKE 24:50-53

In
the previous chapter we noted that Luke 24 is a Resurrection triptych, a
three-paneled verbal painting of Easter Day. The first panel is the picture of
the empty tomb before which the troubled women conversed with angels. The
second shows two of Jesus' followers on the road, their hearts aflame as Jesus,
unrecognized, instructed them about himself from the Scriptures. The third is
of Jesus' sudden appearance that night amidst his startled disciples. Now at
the conclusion of Luke's Gospel, we see another marvelous picture -- Christ
rising in the clouds to Heaven.

The
glorious Ascension not only concludes the Gospel of Luke but provides a bridge
to Luke's sequel, the Acts of the Apostles, which begins with the Ascension. In
fact, just as Luke addressed his Gospel to Theophilus saying, "…it seemed
good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent
Theophilus" (1:3), he later began the book of Acts by saying, "In my
former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach
until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the
Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen" (Acts 1:1, 2). And in Acts he
then greatly expanded on the brief description of the Ascension with which he
had concluded his Gospel.

We
learn in Acts that the Ascension did not immediately take place on Easter
evening, but forty days later: "After his suffering, he showed himself to
these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to
them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God"
(1:3). We know that Jesus appeared to specific individuals on Easter Day -- to
Peter, to the two on the Emmaus road, and to Mary Magdalene (cf. Luke 24:13-35;
John 20:10-18). We know that he made appearances at the apostles' gatherings
during the forty days, first on Easter night (cf. Luke 24:36ff., John
20:19-23), a week later to the disciples and Thomas (cf. John 20:24-29), and
the third time to some disciples when they were fishing in Galilee (John 21:I, 14).

There
were evidently other appearances over the forty days, as is apparent from
Paul's summary in I Corinthians 15: "…he appeared to Peter, and then to
the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers
at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen
asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he
appeared to me also" (vv. 5-8).

Luke
also tells us in Acts that sometime during those forty days Jesus enlarged on
the promise of the Holy Spirit that he had given Easter evening (cf. Luke
24:49): "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this
command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised,
which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few
days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4, 5). What grand
days they were multiple appearances, compounded learning, restoration, and
simmering passions.

At
the end of those forty days Jesus called the Eleven together on the Mount of
Olives. There the apostolic band flamed with expectancy.

6
Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You
at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or
seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.8 “But you shall receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8)

Such
immense spiritual drama! Just before Jesus left earth, he gave the Church its
enduring mission - to be done until his feet again touch down on the Mount of
Olives (cf. Zechariah 14:4). Verse 8 is the key verse to the book of Acts.
"Jerusalem" - "Judea and Samaria" - "the ends of the
earth" - this is the outline of Acts. It continues to be the mandate of
the Church today.

THE
ASCENSION (LUKE 24:50,51; ACTS 1:9-11) Luke 24:50, 51 together with Acts 1:9
tell us what the Eleven saw at the Ascension: "When he had led them out to
the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was
blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven" (Luke 24:50,
51). "After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a
cloud hid him from their sight" (Acts I :9). The Ascension began as Jesus
lifted his hands like an Old Testament priest and began blessing the apostles
(cf. Leviticus 9:22 and the non-canonical Sirach 50:20ff.). As he continued to
bless them, he ascended so that he was calling down the Father's favor as he
moved away. The use of the imperfect tense in both Luke and Acts for "was
taken up" (Luke 24:51) and "he was taken up" (Acts 1:9) seems to
indicate that he ascended slowly while raining down blessings.

The
cloud that "hid" (Acts I :9; literally, "received") him was
the Shekinah, a visible representation of the pleasure and presence of God.
This was the same luminous presence that Moses had encountered on Sinai when
God covered him and he saw its afterglow. It was the same cloud that traveled
before Israel by day and appeared as a pillar of fire at night. [t was the
cloud that layover the tabernacle and filled the temple. It was the glorious
cloud that Ezekiel saw depart over the east gate. It was the same shimmering
presence that surrounded Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration when his face
shone forth like the sun.

The
disciples remained transfixed as the Shekinah moved farther away. As the
distance increased, their dazzled countenances began to fade, their sparkling
eyes dimmed, and they could hear Jesus no more.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he
was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men
of Galilee. " they said. "why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the
same way you have seen him go into heaven. " (Acts 1:10,11).

This
was the exodus toward which the Gospel of Luke had so inexorably moved. In Luke
9 we read that during the Transfiguration, amidst the glorious splendor, Jesus
had talked to Moses and Elijah about his "departure [Greek, exodon], which he was about to
bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). Shortly after that
discussion, "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven,
Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem" (v. 51). Finally, before the
Sanhedrin on the night of his crucifixion, he referred to the exaltation that
would follow his Ascension: "But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated
at the right hand of the [ mighty God" (22:69).

Jesus'
great exodus was now complete. And with his Ascension. there also came an
elevation of Jesus' ministry to new heights.

THE
MEANING OF THE ASCENSION

What
is the significance of the Ascension, and what does it mean to us? The answer
begins in the Old Testament where the prophecies of Jesus' ascension are so
instructively rooted (cf. Psalm 2:7-9; 8:6; 68:18; 110:1,5; Daniel 7:13, 14).
Psalm 68:18 reads: "When you ascended on high, you led captives in your
train; you received gifts from men" (italics added). In Ephesians 4:8 Paul
quotes this as referring to Christ's ascension: "When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men" (italics added). Note
that Paul, knowing this Psalm was about Jesus, freely changed the pronouns
"you" to "he" (to make it clear that it prophetically
referred to Christ) and pictured Christ as giving gifts to men instead of
receiving gifts. How are we to understand this? To begin with, Psalm 68, apart
from its prophetic significance, celebrated the ascent of a Davidic king to
Jerusalem after a victory. It likely refers to King David's festive procession
with the ark to Jerusalem (cf. 2 Samuel 6:12) or commemorates David's earlier
capture of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6, 7). As such, it is a Psalm of huge
celebration. The Psalm sees the victorious ascent to Jerusalem as the
culmination of the journey begun when Israel left Egypt. But since Jesus is
both the son of David and the Lord of David, the Psalm is also a prophecy of a
far greater ascension. Instead of merely being the record of an Old Testament
ascension up Mount Zion to what would be the new temple of Jerusalem, Psalm 68
celebrates a messianic ascension from this world into God's heaven, where the great
King distributes the spoils of victory. Thus Paul interprets it in this way:

(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also
descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who
ascended higher than all the heavens. in order to fill the whole universe.) It
was he who gave some to be apostles. some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for
works of service. (Ephesians 4:9-12a)

So
we see that the ascension of Christ, his earthly exodus, meant two things to
the apostolic church: first, Jesus' incredible exaltation, and second, Jesus'
massive ministry to and through his people.

His
Exaltation

Jesus
was "taken up into heaven" (Luke 24:51). This is not a spatial description.
His ascent cannot be described in terms of space and distance. The descent and
ascent of the Son of God cannot be measured in miles or light-years. The
created universe cannot hold God, as Solomon indicated when he prayed at the
dedication of the temple, "The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot
contain you. How much less this temple I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27).
Heaven is another sphere "where God is wholly experienced and known."

Wherever
this awesome sphere may be, we do know that Jesus was exalted at his ascension
to the right hand of the Father: "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them,
he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God" (Mark
16:19). It is the place of ultimate power. Peter has described the resurrected,
ascended Christ as the one "who has gone into heaven and is at God's right
hand -- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him" (1 Peter
3:22). "Right hand" is a metaphor for all power. To see Jesus
ascended in this way is to understand that he has been exalted to the highest
position possible.

The
night before he died Jesus prayed, "And now, Father, glorify me in your
presence with the glory I had with you before the world began" (John
17:5). That re-glorification appears to be more glorious than his original
glory - an acquired glory -- a glory consequent on his earthly life and
suffering. How can this be? How can one who is infinitely glorious become more
glorious? The answer is suggested by the "new name" he received at
his return to heaven: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"
(Philippians 2:9-11).

The
new name was "Jesus" -- the name of his acquired humanity that he
took in glorified bodily form to Heaven. Today our Lord has a greater glory as
he reigns in his human body, beautified by those scars in the way an artist
makes a figure more lovely than before by the marks of his tools. His infinite
glory may not be improved, but it is "greater" in that angels and men
have acquired a better understanding of it.

Our
Exaltation

So
we see that the Incarnation was not something casual and fleeting but has
permanent consequences in taking Christ's humanity to Heaven. Christ's humanity
is in Heaven, and at his coming he will take the humanity that he has redeemed
to be there with him. Jesus has become "the firstfruits" of his
people through his resurrection and ascension and therefore guarantees the
final redemption of those in union with him (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). As a
result of their unity with Jesus, there is a sense in which believers have
ascended into Heaven with him. Thus where the head is, there are the members
(cf. Ephesians 1:20-22). Paul writes, "And God raised us up with Christ
and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians
2:6). The present exaltation of believers is a fact that will be seen fully at
Christ's return. We have ascended with him, and we are to glory in it now!

His
Ministry: Intercession

There
is more. Jesus ascended into Heaven to begin his heavenly ministry as High
Priest. Paul rejoiced at this, asking, "Who is he that condemns? Christ
Jesus, who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right
hand of God and is also interceding for us" (Romans 8:34). The writer of
Hebrews likewise rejoiced:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who
has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the
faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way. just as
we are -- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time
of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

The
fact that his glorified earthly body is in Heaven is at the core of our comfort.
There is no chord in our human experience that does not resonate with his.

Our fellow-suff'rer yet retains

A fellow-feeling of our pains:

And still remembers in the skies

His tears. his agonies, and cries.

Again
the writer of Hebrews rejoiced, "We have this hope as an anchor for the
soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where
Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high
priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 6:19, 20). And
again, "Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God
through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews
7:25). Oh, the comfort that comes to our souls because of the ascension of
Christ!

His
Ministry: The Spirit

Yet
there is even more, because his ascension meant the sending of the Holy Spirit.
In the Upper Room he said, "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good
that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but
if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). Christ ascended to Heaven so
he could be nearer to his own. Imagine if he had chosen Jerusalem as his seat.
Localized, he would have deprived every other place of his presence. But with
the Ascension all restrictions have been removed and he is our ever-present
Christ.

His
Ministry: Power

Jesus
not only sends us the Holy Spirit, but he supplies power to his Church. At the
Father's right hand all power is his. "I tell you the truth;' said Jesus
as he was about to promise the Spirit, "anyone who has faith in me will do
what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father" (John 14:12). Not many days later, the disciples saw
the truth of this at Pentecost. Jesus had ascended to Heaven and had given
gifts to his people by his Spirit, then empowered them by his Spirit. The
greatest of all works is the salvation of a soul, and soul-winning is a
"greater work" considering the poor vessels God uses to preach his
saving Word. The ascension of our Lord to Heaven brought about:

ŠHis
super-exaltation.

ŠOur
exaltation.

ŠHis
intercession for us.

ŠHis
presence with us.

ŠHis
power through us.

This
is why the apostolic church confessed the Ascension!

Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is
great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels.
was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in
glory. (I Timothy 31/6)

CLOSING
REFLECTIONS The Ascension is part of the Apostles' Creed ". . . the third
day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and sitteth. . .
." The immediate effect of Jesus' ascension upon his followers was
twofold.

They
worshiped.
Luke concludes his Gospel, "Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God"
(vv. 52, 53). With the Ascension all his disciples at last understood - and
they bowed in awed adoration. This is where the gospel ought to leave us too -
worshiping the ascended King.

They
witnessed.
Acts, Luke's sequel, records that their worship flowered into witness to the
world. This is where the gospel ought to take us too - witnessing to a lost
world.

Soli
Deo Gloria!

From
Luke: That You May Know the Truth, by R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor, College
Church, Wheaton, Illinois. Crossway Books 1998.